"Nomads" could have been better if the plot and narrative has been more coherent and that more incident had taken place. I still recall seeing the video trailer for this rather odd movie back in 1986. From what I saw, "Nomads" had potential but this wasn't fulfilled in my opinion. Lesley Ann Down is rather wasted as the female lead. Her actual screen time is limited and she's absent for quite a while. Pierce Brosnan is ok as the doomed character who gets too close to the ancient tribe that he's tailing across Los Angeles. The opening scene at the hospital is pretty good as there is some intrigue. The parallel flashback portion tends to become bogged down rather quickly. One or two scenes are not bad but this film is largely unsuccessful.

If you are in the right mood, this movie can really creep you out. Plot wise it's not perfect and the French accents are best viewed as comic relief. But some films have a moment that rises above the norm, and there are several in this piece. In a way I'm happy that every little loose end isn't tidied up and explained.Wondering if Pierce would consider appearing in a sequel. After all, his wife could have had a baby that would want to meet daddy. There is a whole new generation of annoying music to license. A gritty, hand-held update (shot on HD video) could hit the spot.Anyway, relax and suspend disbelief. It will all be over in 90 minutes anyway ...[2015 update -- a U.S blu-ray release has been advertised for August. Hoping they will give it a 5.1 sound upgrade!]

certain movies sit with us like old friends or lovers, or even family members... we remember every nuance, every scene, every sound with fondness and delight... movies like Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz, or even offbeat movies like Alien or The Usual Suspects or Independence Day or Seven Samurai or Jaws or many others... i'm naming my personal favorites, of course, it's different for all of us... but these are movies we carry in our hearts, we can replay vignettes from them as personal remembrances...other movies are great works of art, maybe not so personally felt, but their greatness is breathtaking, we love them for their sheer magnitude and scope and beauty... again this varies from person to person, but movies like The Ten Commandments or Spartacus or The Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind or many others... these are cultural icons, touchstones of our common humanity and vision...and then there are the movies that are just plain ol' flat out works of artas with any form of art or beauty, it is all within the eye of the beholder of course, your mileage may vary, taste is subjective etc. etc., but art is artNomadsi consider Nomads to be one of those flat out works of artcinematic artthose who left kvetches and bad reviews about Nomads here on IMDb are entitled to their opinions... i'm not saying they're wrong... but i'm definitely not gonna say they're right... they don't get it... too bad, move on, don't bother to bitch and moan... i personally can't stand Middle Ages Christian art... it bores me... but that's not a criticism, it says more about my tastes than the art... art is artNomads is art(i happen to think it's great art)

~Spoiler~ Watch as Adam Ant and Mary Woronov chase Pierce Brosnan to an 80's soundtrack with guitar licks provided by Ted Nugent in Nomads. I really have no idea what I just watched. Let me see if I can attempt to make this thing make sense for myself. Pierce Brosnan is a French anthropologist who studies nomadic tribes around the globe. He moves to California and, at the film's opening, we find him at a hospital. He dies there and whispers his last words to nurse Leslie Anne Down who then becomes possessed by his memories. Through flashbacks she witnesses Brosnan's last days as he tracks a modern nomadic gang through the city. However, these nomads may not be human. They may be mythological spirits who have actually been tracking Brosnan all along. Sounds complicated, no? Well that's not really even scratching the surface with this movie. There's a lot more going on but I'll leave it to you to answer some of the more nerve-wracking questions. Let's just say there's no linear narrative and the convoluted script is unapologetic. We see twist after twist after twist and hope the end is in sight soon. I must confess, I was getting really restless towards the end of the film. I can say that the end image does bring some coherency to the first 90 minutes, but I'm still missing a piece of the puzzle. It's not at all what I expected out of director John McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard). Surprisingly subtle stuff for a McTiernan film. Nomads is a film that will benefit from repeat viewings.